Royal Wedding, why I dont give a damn!

London has gone crazy.

Tubes, hotels, restaurants, roads- everywhere, Royal wedding has become a fever. I see pizzas, cakes, dolls, comics, films being made on the royal couple. BBC and other news channels I am addicted to, have pompously broadcasted the countdown for the wedding.

As this week dawned, hundreds of ardent supporters have been camping around Westminster Abbey. There are fans grumbling, pushing elbowing for space, amidst cameramen and reporters. As the dress rehearsals start, everyone literally jumps in. When Prince Harry comes in his royal car, it becomes a breaking news, as if nothing else is important.

Be it Sainsbury’s, Tesco or even local shops, hundreds of cups, cards, souvenirs of the royal wedding are flooding everywhere, trying their level best to coax the customers. Indeed its a gala affair. Indeed.

After Prince Charles and Lady Diana married, the Britons have been eagerly waiting for this new auspicious revelry. More than them, its William and Catherine who have faced the twists and turns, the rebukes that sarcastically commented their relationships, the frivolous comment of Kate Middleton’s family not being royal, so and so forth.

Eventually, as a simple lady as I am, I do respect the fact that their love story is finally approaching towards a happy ending. And they, indeed have come a long way. It does seem like a fairy tale.

But then, I do not give a damn. And I have my reasons.

To start with, the journalist in me has been quite disturbed by the media space given to this ceremony when other important issues, rather deaths have been causing rampant bloodshed in the Middle East. In Syria, around 450 pro democracy protesters have been killed. In Libya, I cant even count the numbers, anymore. But when you look at the front page of the tabloids and local newspapers, the judgment of giving away most of the page presence to the wedding, sometimes, does boil my blood.

But then, thats what commercialization does. Thats a business now, more than a national celebration. Human emotions are being sold and purchased. And thats when, the beauty dies.

Secondly, its a wedding. For me, marriages are very sacred and private affairs. It can also be because of my deep rooted trust in the Indian culture. Sadly, I do not see the value in such a massive public display of a love marriage. But then again, to each, his own.

Thirdly and most importantly, what disturbed me was the expenditure on the royal wedding. In one of the tweets I read ‘spending up to $60M on a #RoyalWedding when you owe $1 trillion in national debt? There’s hope for you yet, British Empire.’

Hundreds of people are facing the employment cuts, everyday, in London alone. Several are living in the most egregious circumstance. Britain herself is plunging into recession and still fighting it for the past 2 years. There are NATO officials who are not able to be precise in their operations because they do not have finance to invest in fighter jets.

Sadly, Royal wedding is not an investment. Its just an episode, a process, a ceremony or an event.

But then, I shall go and attend it. Its also a history in making, a part of royal essence, at least to some level. And more than that, a happy ending to a beautiful love story!

Syria, you are not invited to the Royal wedding

It looks like the Royal wedding has become more like a judgment to UK’s diplomatic relations with other countries along with being a national revelry.

For example, the Syrian ambassador’s invitation for the royal wedding has been withdrawn in the light of brutal uprising leading to the death of 450 pro-democracy protesters in the country. There has been no update about the invitation, if sent to other ambassadors, like that of Libya, Egypt or Tunisia.

In agreement with the Buckingham Palace, the Foreign Minister William Hague has stated that the invitation to the Syrian ambassador would be unacceptable.

Dr. Sami Khiyami had also been called to the foreign office earlier this week to show how Britain did not appreciate the massive killings that are taking place in Syria.

The Permanent Under Secretary Simon Fraser had also asked the Syrian government to halt the insensitive butchering of the pro-democracy protestors in Syria.

In the meantime, the respective Syrian officers present in France, Italy, Germany and Spain were also called to their government offices to demand the halt in the killings.

‘Spectre of bloodshed in Syria’

The Labours MP had also criticised the fact that since former Prime Ministers Gordon Brown and Tony Blair had not been included in the invitation list, chances of Dr. Sami Khiyami’s name would cause aggravated debates.

Recently, Kevan Jones, the British Labour Party politician had also warned against the damage which would be caused if the Syrian ambassador is invited to the royal wedding irrespective of the spectre of the bloodshed and manslaughter currently going on in the streets of Syria.

Though, the Foreign office has stated that the members of the countries with which United Kingdom shares diplomatic relations have been called.

Denis MacShane, the Former Minister of Europe used severe words and defined that walking on the red carpet for tyrants who kill their own people by sending tanks and chopping off the arms of people is definitely ‘Bordering on the grotesque’

‘Not William’s and Kate’s fault’

Michael Dugher, the MP from Barnsley East also stated that the wedding might be a private occasion but it is also a national celebration. Hence, the invitations should be sent after careful consideration.

In the meantime, around 250 ministers have boycotted the Baath party in Syria to criticise the action of the President Assad’s crackdown.

At the same time, there are rumours that representatives from countries like Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Oman, Swaziland and Brunei have been invited.

Though, the list of the invitation for the royal wedding is still kept a secret as of now.

Moreover, it has been revealed that Prince William and Kate Middleton should not be blamed for the invitation. It is, in fact, the decision of the officials from the Foreign Office and St. James’s Palace and hence, they should be more careful.

In the meanwhile, the representative from the Malawi government has also been declined from the invitation after Malawi expelled the UK envoy due to the incident of leaked cables in the country.

Credits: Photo from Reuters